Wednesday 26 January 2011 European Water Vole - Star of Stage and Screen

The European water vole (Arvicola terrestris) was considered a separate species from Arivicola amphibius until 1857. At that time the two were found to be the same species and is generally referred to as Arivicola amphibius. It is found all over Great Britain, north and central Europe and in parts of Russia digging nests in the banks of streams, slow moving rivers and other waterways. Their nests have many rooms, and some are used for food storage for the long winter.

The cute aspect and busy nature of the water vole has captured the imagination of authors and their public. Ratty, the main character in The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame was actually a water vole. Also, in Stella Gibbons’ comic novel and film Cold Comfort Farm one of the characters talks to water voles throughout the story.

They prefer to live in thick riparian vegetation which protects them from predators when they are above ground. They don’t like trampled grass or trees where predators can hide. The American mink was the main predator and almost hunted the voles to extinction (see also this article). They are protected now in the UK and are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list as Least Concern.

Water voles are commonly mistaken for rats and called water rats in some places even though they have fur on their ears, paws and tails and have short noses. They have chubby faces and bodies and are excellent swimmers and divers. They grow to 5.5-8.7 inches (140-220 millimeters) long plus a tail of 2.2-2.8 inches (55-70 millimeters). Adult water voles weigh from 5.6-12.3 ounces (160-350 grams). Babies must grow to 4.9-6.0 ounces (140-170 grams) to survive the first winter.

Pregnancy is 21 days and a litter may contain up to eight babies. Each one weighs about 0.4 ounces (10 grams). They open their eyes three days after birth and can expect to live two years. Most water voles do not live through a second winter.

They eat grass and plants that grow near water and sometimes bulbs, twigs, buds, roots and fruits. When there is no apparent reason, because there is enough food available, they can destroy the grass of a whole field like a plague. They will eat voraciously leaving it bare. They have even been known to eat frogs’ legs in Wiltshire, England. They do this possibly to make up for a lack of protein in their diet. You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Monday 24 January 2011 The Annually Fruitful Gray Brocket

The Gray brocket (Mazama gouazoupira) deer has a grayish-brown coat, and the underside of its tail is white. When fully grown, gray brockets average a weight of 17 kg, or 37.4 lbs. They measure approximately 850 to 1050 mm, or 41.34 to 33.46 inches. Male gray brocket deer have antlers measuring from 70 to 100 mm. The gray brocket makes its home in Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Venezuela and Uruguay and prefer open areas, such as the thorn scrub in Venezuela and may be found in arid regions, swamplands, savannas, or on the borders of transitional forests.

The gray brocket deer reproduces year round. Does have been found pregnant and lactating simultaneously, and spotted fawns may be found all through the year. Gestation averages eight months. Generally only one offspring is born at a time, twins occur rarely.

The average lifespan of gray brocket deer is 13 years in the wild. Rarely seen in groups of three, they are solitary animals, preferring cover during the day and to feed in the open only at night. Female home ranges overlap, but male home ranges are exclusive.

Gray brocket deer communicate through scent-marking, including defecation, urination, thrashing, and forehead rubbing. Females and juveniles have been known to mark more often inside their home range than males, who usually mark outside their range. Other communication methods include posture, visual signals, physical contact, and some vocalizations.

Mostly frugivorous, gray brocket deer prefer fleshy fruits from bush-like trees during the wet season. They feed on tough fruit from the Casesalpinia paraguarensis and the Zyzyphus oblongifoia trees during the dry season. This fruit is dry and tough. In regions like the Chaco, water is more scarce during the dry season, so the deer eat more bromeliad and cacti fruits, in addition to succulent roots and leaves, to fulfill their need for water. They also eat twigs, buds, flowers, bark, and tree or shrub leaves. Because of the type of iteofeverything.com/animals/mammals/Primates/">Primates